Youth Court Advocacy Review findings published

Whilst recognising that there were examples of good practice
amongst advocates appearing in youth court proceedings, the report
found that the overall quality of advocacy was "highly
variable".

Although the report was commissioned to gather evidence about
advocacy standards, it clearly found that the reason for the
mixed quality standards is at least partly linked to systemic
problems with the way in which youth justice is administered. Such
problems include - but are not limited to - the time pressure on
advocates brought about by legal aid reform.

With this in mind, we have called for a collaborative response
to the issues raised in our review. We have called on all parties
including the Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board, to
work alongside us to address the issues highlighted.

We are also going to consider what we - as the regulator acting
in the public interest - can do to address the issue of advocacy
standards amongst those working with young offenders.

It is important to stress that we have made no firm decisions
yet about what regulatory action we and the other regulators should
take in response to the report's findings. However, we have
accepted in principle the recommendations set out in the report.
These include ways to improve specialist training for all advocates
appearing in the youth courts.
You can read the full report on our website.